Permits | How to Apply

Permit applications and instructions for endangered and threatened species native to the United States can be found below. Most permits are issued by the regional office where the activity will take place, with the exception of Interstate Commerce permits, which are issued by the office of the "lead region" of the Fish and Wildlife Service for the affected species. To determine which region is the lead region for the species of interest, search our endangered species database using the interface below and click on the species' scientific name in the search results. Lead region will be listed under the Current Listing Status Summary heading or by contacting your closest Regional Endangered Species office.

If your proposed activity will take place in multiple states that cross regional office lines, you should submit your application to the regional office that is responsible for the state in which you reside. As an example, if you reside in North Carolina, and your proposed activities will occur in Virginia, Indiana, Georgia, and Oklahoma, you would submit your application to the regional office responsible for the state of North Carolina, the Southeast Regional Office in Atlanta, Georgia.

Fish and wildlife management is also handled by states, territories, and tribes. Your proposed activity may also require one or more permits from another regulatory agency as well. See the list of state and territorial fish and wildlife offices for contact information.  For activities occurring on tribal land, you may also need to obtain a tribal permit or tribal authorization before conducting your proposed activity.  If your proposed activity may affect tribal land, tribal trust resources, or the ability of the tribe to provide services to its constituency, please contact the appropriate tribal leader prior to conducting your proposed activity. Information about working with tribes, including a directory of tribal leaders, is available on the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of the Native American Liaison.  Getting a Service permit is contingent upon obtaining any required state, territorial, and tribal permits/ authorizations.

A fee is required to apply for a permit from the Service, and to amend an existing permit. Please see the instructions in each permit application form for further information concerning fees. Applicants should allow at least 90 days for processing of the completed application.

Instructions

You can complete page one of the permit application online, as well as portions of pages two to the end of the application.  Due to the wide variation in the number of species and proposed activities sought to be covered under a permit, the remainder of the permit application cannot be completed online at this time.

Please do not fill out or submit the application forms until you contact our nearest Field Office. The Field Office will provide guidance on developing complete and adequate application material and will determine when the application form and material are ready for submission.

1. Before attempting to fill out the form on page one of the application, please print out and read the instructions found on the last two pages of the form.
2. Next, fill out page one online. To add the return address to the upper left corner of the application form, click on the return address hyperlink in the upper left corner of the form. This will send you to a separate web page that lists the Regional addresses for our Endangered Species Permit program. The top of the address page contains instructions for copying the return address from the address web page and pasting it into the application form. Print the instructions so that you will have them handy when you copy and paste text between the two web pages.
3. Print the application after you have finished filling out the online portions of the form. If you have Adobe Acrobat Reader 8.0 on your computer, you can save a copy of the application.
4. Next, read over pages two to the end of the application and provide the remaining information in a separate document. It would help us to process your application more efficiently if you would first type the item number and title in bold text, and then provide your response underneath.

Application Forms

• Enhancement of Survival Permits Associated with Safe Harbor Agreements and Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances - Form 3-200-54 [400KB]
• Recovery Permits and Interstate Commerce Permits - Form 3-200-55 [488KB]
• Incidental Take Permits Associated with Habitat Conservation Plans - Form 3-200-56 [492KB]

If you need a permit application form for a different Service program, please go to our main permits web page.